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Glossary
DNS records

DNS records

Domain name system (DNS) records store important information about domains and hostnames. These records hold different types of information, such as the IP address of a website’s server, the email server associated with a domain, or information about the website’s security protocols, that are necessary for routing internet traffic to its intended destination.

They function like maps, directing DNS queries, or requests for information about a domain name or hostname, to the desired endpoint.

DNS records, also called zone files, live in authoritative nameservers. The information they contain exists in text files written in DNS syntax, a language composed of a string of characters that tells a DNS server how to do DNS queries. Some examples of what DNS syntax can instruct a DNS server to do include: 

  • Directing traffic to a specific IP address associated with a domain name
  • Set up email service for a domain name by specifying the email server’s location
  • Implement security measures by specifying the appropriate certificates

Every domain needs at least a few DNS records to allow users to access the website using the domain name. You can perform a DNS record lookup to check the records of any site.

The most common record type is an A record, which indicates a given domain's internet protocol (IP) address. Without A records, users must manually type in a website’s IP address for the site to load.

When a site has a subdomain like discourse.webflow.com, the subdomain will often have a DNS CNAME record that points to a root domain (webflow.com). This feature allows the host IP address to change without affecting a user’s bookmarks.

Visit Webflow University for help troubleshooting DNS settings and connecting a custom domain to your Webflow site.

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Other glossary terms

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Cryptographic hash function

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A cryptographic hash function takes an input message of any length, such as a file, message, or password, and uses a mathematical formula to produce a fixed-size output (hash).

Unbranded form submission notification

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Form submission notifications that have no reference to Webflow (e.g., notifications sent from “no-reply@webforms.io” instead of “no-reply@webflow.com”).

Wrapper

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A wrapper is a programming language function for encapsulating and organizing elements within a well-defined interface.

Em

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An em in CSS is a scalable and relative unit of measurement that defines the size of an element relative to its parent's font size.

Hotlink

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A hotlink — also known as a remote or inline link — is a hyperlink that directs to a resource, such as an image or a file, without the owner’s explicit permission.

Style Manager

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The third tab in the right-side panel where you can rename element classes, preview your class and tag styles, search for classes and tags, and delete any classes that aren’t in use.

Background

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A website background is a visual element behind webpage content, enhancing aesthetic appeal and user engagement.

Flex-grow

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The flex-grow CSS property defines how much an element grows relative to other flexible items inside the same flex parent.

Webflow CMS

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Webflow's content management system (CMS) is where dynamic content (Collections and their Collection items) is stored and maintained so you can reference it throughout your site. A CMS lets you input data in one location, then use Collection template pages or Collection lists to display that content without having to update the content displays one at a time.

Navigator

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A navigator, or a navigator window or panel, is a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides an overview of a website's structure and layout.

End user

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An end user is an individual or group who directly interacts with a particular product, service, or user interface (UI), such as a website or application.

Meta description

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An HTML attribute you can use to give a short description of the contents of a webpage. Search engines often display this in results pages (SERPs).

Below the fold

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Below the fold refers to the lower portion of a webpage that isn’t immediately visible to visitors upon loading until they scroll down.

Website name

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A website name, or domain, is the title of a website that appears in the browser tab and search engine results.

Webflow forum

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The place to go when you need help with your site's design, custom code, etc. Visit the forum.

Cloneable site

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Cloneable sites are open source (made available under the CC0 (“no rights reserved”) license). When you enable cloning, you allow any user to copy, modify, and use any part of your site for personal or commercial purposes.Sites with cloning turned off do not give others access to copy your site or open it in the Designer.

Collection limits

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By default, Collection lists display all items in a Collection, but you can add limits to control the number of Collection items that display.

Columns

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Columns let you create sections of content that sit side by side on your website, like the columns in newspapers. You can choose how many columns you want and their widths. You can also control how they display on smaller screens — such as stacking them.

Ligature

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A ligature in typography groups adjacent letters or characters into one glyph.

Cascading rules

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The order in which a Webflow site's CSS styles flow from desktop to mobile breakpoints.

Empty state

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The state displayed when a Collection contains no Collection items, which gives you the opportunity to design for a situation where there's no content to display. Check out the Empty States blog for inspiration.

Preview mode

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A feature that allows you to see how your site would be displayed in a browser without needing to publish your site or leave the Designer.

External link

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External links direct users to different websites and impact a site's search engine visibility and rankings.

ATAG

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Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) are a layered rule-set that influence how designers and developers create a more accessible internet.

Descendant selector

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A descendant selector is a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) selector that targets elements nested inside a parent element.

Client-side

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Client-side is the user-facing part of a web app, responsible for processing user input and displaying content.

X-Ray mode

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A grayscale view of your site’s canvas that visually displays each element’s border, margin, and padding when hovered over.

Network Address Translation (NAT)

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NAT (Network Address Translation) is a technique that enables communication between devices with private internet protocol addresses and the public internet.

Domain-Specific Language (DSL)

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A Domain-Specific Language (DSL) is computer script that solves software problems in a specific domain.

Gamut

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Color gamut describes the full range of colors a device can reproduce on its display.

Contextual advertising

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Contextual advertising is a form of paid advertising that matches web content with ad intent.

Micro conversion

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Micro conversions are small but important user actions on a website that contribute to the overall conversion funnel.

Forms section

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A section of the Add panel that houses form elements like inputs, checkboxes, and radio buttons.

Flex-shrink

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The flex-shrink CSS property defines how much an element shrinks relative to other flexible items inside the same parent element.

Map

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A Webflow element that embeds an interactive Google Map in your site.

Bounding box

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A bounding box is a rectangular border around a website element (e.g., a heading, paragraph, or image) that appears during the design process.

Folder

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A folder is a subdirectory of your site's root folder for organizing web pages.

Subdomain

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The part of a domain that comes before the root domain (e.g., blog.yourwebsite.com is a subdomain whereas yourwebsite.com is the root domain).

Idempotent

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Idempotency is a computing principle where multiple applications of a function or operation produce the same result as a single execution.

Resource Description Framework (RDF)

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The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a standardized framework developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that facilitates automated data exchange between web systems and applications.

Language code

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A language code is a standardized code of letters and numbers that represent different languages.

User interface (UI)

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A user interface (UI) is any visual element humans interact with on a device, webpage, or application.

XML sitemap (sitemap.xml)

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An XML (Extensible Markup Language) sitemap is a text file that lists a website's pages to help search engines crawl and index them.

Form button

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A form element that lets website visitors submit data to your form handler.

Folder settings

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Allows you to manage your folders.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML)

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A standard markup language that web browsers use to display websites.

SaaS

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Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based approach to delivering software on a subscription basis without requiring local installation.

Transfer site

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You can transfer sites from one Workspace to another Workspace.

Keyboard shortcuts

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Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of keys on a computer keyboard that perform a specific action or command within an application or operating system.

Right margin

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Right margin is a CSS property that defines the space between the right edge of an element and its surroundings.

Help text

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Help text is a user interface design element that provides additional information or guidance to users to clarify which content should go in a given Collection field.

CMS Collection page

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A dynamic page that Webflow automatically creates for each Collection item. When you design a Collection page, all the pages that are created for each Collection item will have the same template but different content.

Div block

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A generic element that is typically used to group content, or when no other element is specifically or semantically suitable. Div blocks have no effect on the content or layout until styled with CSS.

Widget

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A widget is an interactive element embedded in a user interface that facilitates specific user actions or displays important information at a glance.

Undo

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To move backward one step while making changes to a Webflow site.

Left margin

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Left margin is a CSS property that defines the space between an element's left edge and its surroundings.

SSL CDN

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SSL CDN, or Secure Sockets Layer Content Delivery Network, is an option that allows you to serve your images over your own CDN service while using SSL.

Webflow branding

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A visible “Made in Webflow” badge displayed in the bottom right corner of Webflow sites. Webflow branding also appears in the site’s HTML. Learn more about Webflow branding.

Object-oriented programming (OOP)

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Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming approach that organizes code into self-contained units of data, functions, and behavior.

Video

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A Webflow element that displays externally hosted videos such as YouTube and Vimeo.

Flex child

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An element contained within a parent element that has display: flex set.

Collection list

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A Collection list is a Webflow element that lets you dynamically display content from a CMS Collection.

Checkout process

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The checkout process in ecommerce is the process that online customers go through to complete a purchase.

Interpolation

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Interpolation is a mathematical process that estimates and creates new values based on known values and their relationship.

Content-first design

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A design approach that prioritizes content planning and production in the design process.

Design mode

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The mode that enables a designer to build in Webflow.

Static content

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Static content is content that’s not bound to any Collections or dynamic elements.

Collection

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A content type (blog posts, recipes, etc.) represented by a group of fields you define. Once created, you can add individual Collection items.

Twitter button

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A Webflow element that embeds a Twitter Follow or Tweet button into your site.

Python

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Python is a high-level, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language (GPL).

Footer code

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Footer code creates a section at the bottom of every web page that displays important information like disclaimers, copyright or contact information, and links to related documents.

.htaccess

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.htaccess is a powerful configuration file that allows you to configure and control how your website functions.

Right padding

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The inside spacing between the right border of an element and the elements inside it.

Baseline

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The baseline is the fixed invisible line that serves as the base for letters. It’s used as a measurement for line height and x-height.

Component Module

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A section in the Add Panel that houses pre-built Webflow elements such as sliders, tabs, and lightboxes.

Sibling

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An element that shares the same parent of another element.

URL

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A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a standardized web address format that allows users to identify and access an online resource.

Product attribute

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Product attributes are specific characteristics that define purchasable merchandise or commodities and provide relevant information to customers.

Total Form Submissions

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The amount of times a site visitor submits data using your site's form(s).

Primitive

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A primitive is the simplest JavaScript data type, representing fundamental values that do not encapsulate any object, method, or property.

Head code

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Custom code that's added just before the closing </head> tag in your site's HTML file. Learn more about custom code in head and body tags.

Descriptor

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A CSS descriptor sets specific properties and values of an at-rule (@-rule) element, dictating its appearance and behavior on a web page.

Backup

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A backup is a copy of data stored in an alternate location, including hard drives, cloud servers, or network-attached storage (NAS) servers.

Publish site

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The act of updating your live site to reflect new design changes.

Percent

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A measurement unit relative to an element's parent.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

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Scalable Vector Graphics, or SVG, is a file format for displaying scalable vector graphics on the web.

Number field

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Available in CMS Collections. It lets you insert an integer with or without decimals.

Headless CMS

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A headless content management system (CMS) separates the front-end presentation layer from the back-end management layer, allowing for more flexible content delivery.

Common targets

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All elements on the page targeted by the same selector.

Paragraph

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A typography element used for displaying multi-sentence text content.

Return on investment (ROI)

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Return on investment (ROI) is a metric evaluating the profitability or gain of a venture.

Editor toolbar

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The toolbar that appears at the bottom of the Editor. From here, you can access the various Editor panels to manage page settings, dynamic content, forms, and your Editor account. You can also see and publish the changes you make through the Editor.

JPEG

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Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is a file format that uses lossy compression to maintain manageable file sizes without compromising image quality.

Custom domain hosting

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A Webflow service that lets you point a custom domain to your Webflow-hosted site.

Canvas

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The <canvas> tag in HTML5 creates a container for dynamic graphics and image rendering on a webpage.

Java

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Java is an object-oriented programming language for building dynamic, interactive web applications across platforms

Inline style

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Inline style applies CSS to an individual HTML element using the "style" attribute within the HTML tag.

Display property

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Display properties operate like instructions that tell a browser how to display the different parts of a webpage. You can customize an element’s appearance and layout by changing its display property.

Header

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A header is a section at the top of a webpage.

Span text

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The span tag is used to style inline-text.
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